Jeffrey D. Jakubik: Candidate profile
BIO
Name: Jeffrey D. Jakubik
City: Lake in the Hills
Office sought: Lake in the Hills Village Trustee
Age: 39
Family: Wife: Kathryn Sons: Johnny 7 years old, Jimmy 6 years old, Joey 3 years old.
Occupation:
Current: Real Estate Agent with Coldwell Banker The Real Estate Group in Algonquin. (2016-present)
Previous: Special Education Classroom Assistant in Chicago Public Schools (2007-2016)
Education:
1/19-Current Northern Illinois University, Dekalb, Illinois
Currently attending classes for a B.A Degree in English
1/04-12/05 California State University San Marcos, San Marcos, California
Majored in literature and writing
8/97-5/01 Elgin Community College, Elgin, Illinois
A.A. Degree
8/93-6/97 Streamwood High School, Streamwood, IL
High School Diploma
Civic involvement: 2001-2002 AmeriCorps, Escondido, CA Tutor/Mentor
09/17-Current LITHYAA Youth Baseball Coach, ALITHSA Youth Soccer Coach. UA Youth Flag Football Coach, Dundee Park District Youth Basketball Coach
Previous elected offices held: None
Incumbent? If yes, when were you first elected? No
Website:
Facebook:
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Issue questions
What are the most important issues facing your community and how do you intend to address them?
The multimillion dollar question facing our community right now is what will become of the former horse farm at 1109 Pyott Road? The village purchased the property in 2002 for 2.6 million dollars. They evicted the boarders of the Silver Linings Equestrian center in June of 2017 and it's remained empty ever since. Recently they took down the fencing but the only plan of action there seems to be right now is to try and come up with over a million dollars to tear down the buildings. One of the reasons I'm running for village trustee is to ensure that this property is used to truly benefit the people of Lake in the Hills. We have Sunset Park in the western part of LITH but I'd like to see this property become Sunrise Park for the people in the eastern part of the village. I envision a park with soccer fields, basketball courts, a playground, and a splash pad. A park that our village can truly be proud of and one which will benefit all the members of our community.
What makes you the best candidate for the job?
I believe my ability to really listen to the concerns of my fellow residents is what makes me the best candidate for the job. We have such a diverse community and every neighborhood has unique concerns so everyone should have a seat at the table to voice their opinions about how we should help our community. I also have a forward thinking mindset and since I have three young children I believe it's important to take the steps now so that as the children of Lake in the Hills grow, the village grows and improves with them.
Describe your leadership style and explain how you think that will be effective in producing actions and decisions with your village board or city council.
My leadership style is one of inclusivity. The people of LITH should always have a voice and be included in the choices and decisions their government is making. I recently purchased the domain name LithNews.com which I'll be launching in the coming weeks as a way for LITH residents to come together to voice their concerns and ideas to help our community grow and prosper. In the meantime I've just created the "Lake in the Hills community group" on Facebook so community members can come together and share their vision of our village's future.
How would you describe the condition of your community's budget, and what are the most important specific actions the town should take to assure providing the level of services people want?
In terms of our community's budget and financials it definitely took a hit with the loss of tax dollars when the Dominic's on Randall Road shut down and remained vacant for some time. Going forward we need to make sure our revenue is continuing to grow while also making sure we're getting the best deal on government projects. I've noticed quite a few requests for no-bid contracts at the board meetings I've attended and the meeting minutes I've read, if we're getting our money's worth that's fine, otherwise we should always be looking to save money and use that money to improve the neighborhoods of Lake in the Hills.
What's one good idea you have to better the community that no one is talking about yet?
I previously talked about utilizing the village owned property at 1109 Pyott Road for the betterment of the community and for that to happen we also need to improve our parks and recreation division of LITH. There used to be lots of sports programs for young children to choose from and now there's nothing. We now have to go to surrounding suburbs and pay nonresident fees to get our young kids into an intro sports program. I'd also like to see improvements to our beaches as well, such as making sure they're clean and more family friendly. Our community has been growing with families of young children for years now and going forward we need to make sure that they're also being served to the best of the village's ability.